Victory within Defeat
by Burning Glass
Summary: After having done it all and achieving his dream, a young Pokemon Master is...well he's in a rut. That is, until he meets Perdita, the most bizarre challenger he's ever encountered.
1. Prologue

**Hey there! This is my first Pokemon fanfic, and this was requested by my friends. Kenzii, Harold, this one is for you guys!**

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><p><strong>Victory within Defeat<strong>

Prologue

He was a Pokémon Master. He had traveled all the regions, collected all the data, raised all the eggs and evolved all the Pokémon. He had beaten the Elite Four and defeated the former champion. He had achieved the dreams of nearly every budding trainer.

But that hadn't been enough.

Then, he had carefully tracked down and captured almost all of the Legendary Pokémon.

Almost. They were certain lines that were best left uncrossed. Celebi for instance, as well as Mew and Mewtwo. Messing with time and space was not something one should do. Ever.

Unfortunately there had been a rut. A stand still. The trainers up to challenging a Master were few and far between.

But that was all about to change. As he walked down a dirt road, he came across the most unlikely challenger imaginable...

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><p>Perdita Islay Church was not someone to take lightly. However, given her appearance that very thing happened often.<p>

Perdita was an eleven year old girl. Her auburn hair was pulled into two ponytails on either side of her head and curled into ringlets. She had large, green, doe-like eyes with long, think eyelashes. Her frame was small and she stood at four feet eleven inches. She wore a baby blue hoodie, brown pants, and black boots that were a size too large.

Perdita was a Pokémon Trainer who took her job, as that's what she saw it as, very seriously. Each of her six Pokémon was well-trained, handpicked, and treated with care and love. They were like her, seemingly unimpressive, but had a fire burning within them that allowed them to defeat foes twice their size. And with them, she had beaten every single Gym Leader she had come across. But she knew her team was above that now. They were ready for something bigger.

And today was the day. The day she challenged a Pokémon Master. She had practiced and trained for weeks, months in fact. She and her team were in top condition. And so she sought out the elusive Master and stepped defiantly in front of him.

Both feet firmly planted, she addressed him, "I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle!"

The boy looked at her, stupefied. She was challenging him? Her? She was probably close to ten years old and was a foot shorter than he was. He didn't battle little kids who get an idea in their heads that the minute they get a Pokémon in their hands they can take on whoever they want.

He sighed, "Listen, small child, I don't have time for games."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "This isn't a game. I am challenging you to a battle. I have beaten all the Gym Leader and I am qualified to challenge you."

"Yes well unless you have the some sort of proof then I don't-"

At these words, Perdita pulled out a large flip book. She opened it, revealing 40 gleaming badges.

Perturbed by her sudden action, he cautiously examined the badges closely. He plucked out the Cascade Badge and ran his fingers over it. It was genuine. Satisfied, but still disgruntled, he placed the badge back.

"I see...well..." he trailed off, not really wanting to fight the girl but he didn't have an excuse either.

She closed the book and put it back in her backpack. She folded her arms, "Do you have something better to do?"

In all honesty, no. He had nothing else better to do.

He scratched the back of his head, "Fine then. Where are we going to battle?"

She turned and pointed to a large building a few block away, "At the Stadium of course."

He raised an eyebrow, "The Stadium? They don't just rent that place out to anyone you know."

She frowned at him, "I'm not stupid. I have a plan. The owner owes me a favour, so he will let us battle."

"For how long?"

Perdita shrugged, "As long as it takes."

"Will there be an audience?"

"No. I asked him to not let anyone in. I find crowds unnerving and I battle best without them."

The Pokémon Master thought about it. He hadn't had a challenger in some time, and besides it might be fun. If not, he'd just beat her then get back to his walk.

"Very well. Lead on then uh...what's your name?"

"Perdita." She answered. She turned around and started off at a brisk pace towards the Stadium. The Master caught up to her with a few long strides of his considerably longer legs.

A few minutes later the two arrived at the door of the Stadium.

An elderly man with glasses was waiting there. He smiled at Perdita and opened the door for them.

"Good luck!" he called out to Perdita as they passed him.

Perdita smiled back at him. The boy felt a twinge of jealousy, but swashed it. He didn't need luck.

The terrain was red rock and outlined with white paint. Large lights shone down, illuminating the scene.

Perdita took her place on the opposite end on the field.

A young man wearing a green long-sleeved shirt joined them on the field. He carried a flag in one hand. He was their referee, a citizen of the town who was here at Perdita's request.

"This will be a six on six battle. There can be no substitutions. Are the rules clear?" asked the referee.

Perdita and the Pokémon Master nodded.

They each pulled a Pokéball off their belts and tossed it, starting the battle.

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><p><strong>Ta-dah! I hoped you liked it. There might have been some mistakes, but I think overall it is pretty sound. Please review, as it boosts my self-esteem and my desire to write.<strong>


	2. Round 1: Squirtle vs Moltres

**Hey! Sorry for taking an absurdly long time for this one. The battles will be one on one and will switch out each time, so whoever wins the first round will switch Pokemon as well. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Go Squirtle!"<p>

"Go Moltres!"

The water, turtle Pokémon and the fire, flying Legendary Pokémon emerged from their pokéballs.

The Master snorted, "Really? You're going to take me on with _that?_ "

The Squirtle took his stance and glared at the unfazed Moltres.

"This is Maris. He's stronger than you think he is." Perdita replied darkly.

Still unconcerned, the Master smirked, "We'll see. Because I'm a gentleman, I'll let you make the first move."

Perdita smiled, "How kind of you. MARIS IRON TAIL!"

Maris' tail shone and the little turtle leapt forward, hitting Moltres directly in the face. Moltres cried out in surprise and stumbled back, blinking rapidly.

"Now Hydro Pump!"

Maris spewed an enormous jet of water. It rammed into Moltres with shocking force, causing it to collapse and hit the ground.

The Master started in surprise, "H-hey!"

"I did warn you." Perdita said smugly.

He frowned deeply. Perhaps this wouldn't be as easy as he thought.

"Moltres, Flamethrower!" he barked.

The fallen bird shook its head then rose. It took a deep breath then unleashed a torrent of flames at Maris.

"Maris, dodge to the left!" Perdita shouted.

The turtle jumped nimbly out of the pathway of the destructive flames. He scuttled forward and ran full speed at Moltres.

"Maris use Bubblebeam!"

"Moltres use Fly!"

As Maris unleashed a myriad of bubbles the flaming bird flew upwards with a few powerful strokes of its wings. Maris skidded to a stop and watched his opponent soar into the sky.

"Moltres, Fire Spin attack!" the Master cried.

A dizzying spiral of scorching inferno shot from Moltres' mouth. Maris jumped to the side at the last moment, but the recoil on the spiral kicked in and whipped out wildly, striking him on the back of his shell. The little turtle cried out and rolled several times, carried by the momentum of the blow.

"Now use Wing Attack!" the Master shouted.

Moltres folded its wings and dove down, aimed at the downed water Pokémon.

"Maris! Please get up! Get ready for Counter Attack #14!" Perdita exclaimed.

Maris growled and got up, then crouched in a defiant stance, waiting. Moltres was seconds away from impact when suddenly Maris leapt up. The fire bird, noticing the shift from defence to offence, titled its wings up, recovering from the dive rapidly. But it wasn't fast enough. Maris wrapped its small arms around Moltres' leg.

The Master snorted, "And what can he do from there? Shake him off Moltres!"

Moltres shook its leg as hard as it could, but the little Squirtle held on tighter than Wander holding to a Colossus. It crawled slowly but surely until it was on Moltres' back.

"Now Maris, use Bubblebeam!" Perdita ordered.

Maris spewed a foaming jet of bubbles. It smacked the back of Moltres' head directly, and it was SUPER EFFECTIVE. The hit disoriented Moltres, which Maris capitalized on by scurrying forward and gripping the back of Moltres' head.

"Use Iron Tail!" Perdita yelled.

Maris' tail shone brightly, then collided with Moltres' head violently. Moltres screeched loudly and started falling towards the ground.

"Moltres! Fly! Stop falling!" The Master shouted.

But Moltres was too tired; it had taken a severe beating and couldn't lift its wings.

"Use Flamethrower! Ember! Anything!" The Master refused to accept that his Pokémon was pushed beyond its limits and was hopeless to stop it.

Moltres fell like a stone and struck the battlefield hard, shaking the entire field. Moltres was knocked unconscious from the fall, lying in the crater it had created. Maris crawled off Moltres' body and over to his master, wounded but still able to walk.

The referee lifted a green flag in the direction of Perdita, "Moltres is unable to battle. The winner is Maris!"

Perdita kneeled down and scooped up her Squirtle, "We did it! Good job Maris!"

"Squirtle!" Maris cried happily.

The Master gritted his teeth. He advanced and held out his Pokéball, "Moltres return!"

A red light enveloped the fallen Pokémon and disappeared into the red sphere.

Perdita looked up and frowned, "You should treat your Pokémon better."

"I treat my Pokémon fine, thank you." The Master answered coldly, "if Moltres hadn't fallen, he would have beaten your little Squirtle."

Perdita's eyes narrowed, "You don't get it do you? Even if Moltres recovered from that fall Maris would have beaten him. He's smaller yes, but he's fast and he's a water type. That's a deadly combination and you shouldn't have taken such a brash approach."

"I don't need advice from you, kid." The Master bit out.

"Then quit acting like a ten year old that just got his first Pokémon. Show some maturity and foresight."

Hearing that from an eleven year old girl was not something that pleased the Pokémon Master, but he couldn't refute the truth in her words. He'd been cocky; it had been too long since he'd battled and he'd greatly underestimated his opponent. But he wouldn't make that mistake again.

The Master gripped the bill of his ball cap and turned it around, "Time to get serious."

Returning Maris to his Pokéball, Perdita replied, "I already was."

The referee announced, "That is the end of Round 1. Round 2 begins now, choose your Pokémon."

Perdita and The Master drew out two more Pokéballs and threw them, starting the next battle.

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><p><strong>So there it is! I hope you enjoyed it. A free virtual cookie for anyone who recongnized the Shadow of Colossus reference. Reviews are welcome and much appreciated. Also please tell me if this is too short, I was unsure of how long I should make them. Longer, shorter? What? Please tell me!<strong>


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